Hong Kong pitches luxury good importers

Hong Kong pitches luxury good importers    Government officials and businesses highlighted the attractiveness of Hong Kong as a logistics center, particularly for high value and luxury goods, at a seminar in New York Tuesday.
   Doris Cheung, deputy secretary for transport and housing in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said attractions to traders include the city-state’s low tax regime, status as a free port, efficient customs clearances, and presence of customized service and supply chain.
   Developments such as the opening of a fashion hub by TNT Express last month, expansion of a distribution facility by DHL earlier this year, and the presence of logistics companies such as Expeditors and Pacer demonstrate the region's importance as a distribution center to mainland China and other parts of Asia, she said.
   Cheung said Hong Kong has big plans to improve infrastructure in coming years, including:
   ' Possible addition of a third runway to Hong Kong International Airport to accommodate passenger and cargo growth.
   ' Deepening shipping channels from 15 to 17 meters (more than 55 feet) to accommodate ultra-large containerships.
   ' Improving container terminals to eventually double capacity. The port handled about 23.7 million TEUs in 2010 and is only at about 80 percent of capacity. Work would be done in phases and might not begin for seven to eight years.
   ' Building the Hong Kong-Zuhai-Macau Bridge to connect Hong Kong with the Guangdong province city of Zhhai on the west side of the Pearl River Delta. The 31-mile bridge-tunnel project is expected to be completed by 2016.

Lin

   Willy Lin, chairman of the Hong Kong Shippers Council, said the city-state continues to be a “springboard' for companies seeking to trade with China even as China's dependence on exports is expected to gradually lessen as its domestic economy grows.
   'China's market had always been a tough nut to crack for investors and retailers, and for them, the first thing they needed was a good logistical setup to ensure a smooth flow of goods to China,' he said.
   'Foreign companies have found that it going directly into the Chinese market is not always easy,' and Hong Kong offers advantages to companies wanting to reach consumers in China, he said.
   The government has been increasing the supply of land for logistics in the Kwai Tsing area, which has good access to the port and airport. China's central government in its 12th five-year plan for national economic and social development backs Hong Kong's development as a center for high value goods inventory management and use for regional distribution centers.
   Low taxes, acceptance of inspections done in Hong Kong for some products sold in China, and new crossings to the mainland — both the bridge to Guangdong as well as the Liantang-Heung Yeun Wai crossing expected to begin operating by 2018 — make Hong Kong more attractive as a logistics hub.
   Lin noted that since Hong Kong eliminated import taxes on wine in 2008, the number of companies involved in the trade has grown from about 200 to 5,000.
   He said Hong Kong only collects duties on four products'hard liquor, cars, tobacco and gasoline, making it a good location to store products that are then shipped to consumers within China or elsewhere in Asia.
   Joseph Shearn Jr., vice president of distribution at Tiffany & Co., said ease of importation into Hong Kong allows his firm to use a just-in-time strategy to replenish goods sold in Hong Kong in Macau. Products can be in those stores 72 to 96 hours after leaving the United States.
   In contrast, product takes 21 days to get to store in mainland China.
   'One of the strategies that we are embarking on is to leverage our Hong Kong distribution center and that hub-and-spoke methodology to distribution in mainland China.' ' Chris Dupin